Whether your club focus is for social interaction or working to save your favorite wheeling area, members are what make it possible. It starts with membership in a local club centering on a shared goal. Soon, you find that others share common concerns about their area of interest and you begin sharing information. You have started "networking", the basic building block of a creating a coalition.

Management is adapting to change. Planning aids the task of management; adapting to change. Strategic planning is the process of defining the organization's mission, vision, and values. Together, they provide an outline to guide the organization. The mission gives day-to-day relevance for the organization. The vision inspires beyond what may seem possible. And, the core values bind together the members of the organization by defining values that all hold dear.

So, you and a few wheeling buddies decide to create a name and a club is born. Starting a club is easy. Survival of the club is hard. What starts with shared values and vision does change over time. Your desire for the camaraderie and social life of a club needs to be tempered with the reality that you are really starting a small business. This is especially true if your club is an established club that hosts an annual event. You are involved in a small business enterprise. There are steps you can take to make your business (club) as success.

The casual conversation has produced an idea. Now, how do you turn the idea from an abstract thought into reality? What is it you want to accomplish? What is it you need to accomplish? All good ideas happen when they have a solid plan to support them.

I have finally discovered the biggest problem with trying to keep clubs alive and well. Yup, after all these years as a writer, outdoorsman, and facilitator, I have found the secret to what causes our clubs and organizations to fall apart or at least get rusty. Oh, and if you’re saying to yourself that it’s not your club at issue, then keep reading because I predict that every recreationist in our country will face this issue sooner or later.

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